The present invention relates generally to methods of treatment and products for treating disorders. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and compositions for preventing, treating or providing relief from inflammation of the joints, osteoarthritis, and other degenerative joint diseases, or from pain associated with these conditions.
Inflammation of the joint is a common disorder. One result of such chronic inflammation, osteoarthritis (osteoarthrosis), is a degenerative process that is a major cause of invalidism in the adult population. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of all articular disorders, and first appears asymptomatically in the second or third decades and becomes almost universal by age 70. Almost all persons by the age of 40 have some pathological changes in weight bearing joints, although relatively few people are symptomatic. See Merck Manual, 16 Edition, page 1339.
The etiology of osteoarthritis is unknown. It appears to be the result of a complex system of interacting mechanical, biological, biochemical, and enzymatic feedback loops. When one or more of these systems fails, the clinical events follow. Many mechanisms can initiate the cellular and tissue events that constitute a final common pathway. Such mechanisms include: congenital joint abnormalities; genetic defects; infectious, metabolic, endocrine, and neuropathic diseases; virtually any disease process that alters the normal structure and function of hyaline cartilage; and acute or chronic trauma to the hyaline cartilage or tissue surrounding same. Merck Manual, id.
Analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents are used to attempt to manage this disorder. However, they do not stop or slow down the underlying degenerative process, they only function to relieve the pain. Although such nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have classically been used to alleviate pain and enhance joint movement associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, their use is unfortunately associated with accelerated cartilage degeneration. The cartilage degeneration is due to the pathological effects of IL-1, EL-6, TNF, and PGF2, mediators of the acute phase response. The combined effects of these catabolic agents upset the delicate homeostatic balance between synthesis, repair, and degradation of cartilage.
There is a need for improved compositions and methods for treating degenerative joint disease such as osteoarthritis.